The Big 12 rivals will face at the Frank Erwin Center on Saturday as the Texas Tech Red Raiders are taking on the Texas Longhorns looking to get their fifth victory and fourth in the conference play, while the hosts are desperate to bounce back after their three-game winning run snapped with a loss to Oklahoma State. Texas has been a better rival traditionally, especially at home where they didn’t lose in this decade, but the Red Raiders won the last two tilts.

The Red Raiders continued with an excellent form with a win over Oklahoma

Texas Tech’s ten-game winning run snapped with a loss to the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils but they responded with four consecutive wins, three of which were in the conference play including the latest one over the Oklahoma Sooners. The Red Raiders stayed at the top of the Big 12 Conference with the 14-1 record, one win ahead of the Kansas Jayhawks and two more than TCU, Iowa State, and Oklahoma, while they are four victories ahead of their local rivals Texas Longhorns.

Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver led the Red Raiders in a 66-59 win over the Sooners with a double-double of 23 points (8-13 FG, 7-7 FT) and game-high 13 rebounds, along with a couple of steals, while Davide Moretti added 12 points and team-high three thefts. Texas Tech was down by four at halftime but their defense was magnificent in the second 20 minutes and allowed just 24 points to Oklahoma, scoring 35 on the other end. The Red Raiders held the Sooners to 32.3 percent from the floor and although they made only five triples on 19 attempts (26.35), the hosts got a win thanks to an excellent defensive effort.

The Red Raiders have the 205th offense in the NCAAB that averages 73.0 points per contest, while their defense allows 53.5 points per game (2nd). Texas Tech’s rebounding is 192nd as they are recording 35.5 boards per game, while they are 141st when it comes to assists per contest with 14.3 dishes a night. Texas Tech is 42nd in field goal percentage as they have 48.1 percent from the floor and 185th from downtown with 34.0 percentage, while they are the 322nd with 5.9 three-pointers made per game.

The Longhorns fell short to Oklahoma State on the road

Texas was in a fine run of three straight victories including the opening two in the conference play but they couldn’t make a late comeback in the most recent clash with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Longhorns dropped to the 7th position in the Big 12 Conference with the 10-5 record, four wins behind the Texas Tech Red Raiders and three more than the last-placed Cowboys.

Senior guard Kerwin Roach II led the Longhorns in a 61-58 loss to the Cowboys with 18 points, team-high seven rebounds and a pair of steals, while Jaxson Hayes followed him with 13 points, six boards, and game-high four rejections. Two of them needed more support from teammates, though, and Texas was awful from beyond the arc, making just two shots on 22 attempts (9.1%), and even though their defense did a good job in limiting Oklahoma State to 36.5 percent from the floor, the hosts did win the rebounding battle (38-30). The Cowboys had a 19-point lead at one moment and they nearly dropped a victory but the visitors didn’t have enough strength to complete a comeback.

The Longhorns have the 240th offense in the NCAAB that averages 71.7 points per contest, while their defense is allowing 63.6 points per game (28th). Texas is the 170th rebounding team in college basketball as they are recording 36.2 boards per game, while they are 196th when it comes to assists per contest with 13.5 dishes a night. Texas is 242nd in field goal percentage as they have 43.1 percent from the floor and 258th from downtown with 32.3 percentage, while they are the 118th with 8.4 three-pointers made per game.

Notable Trends

Texas:

5-11 ATS in their last 16 games played at home

3-7 ATS in their last ten games played at home vs. an opponent with a winning road record

Favorite is 0-4 ATS last 4 vs. Texas Tech.

Texas Tech:

36-31-1 ATS in the last 68 games after a win

1-4 ATS in their last five games played on the road

The Bottom Line What to bet on this game.

Full-Game Side Bet

Rating:

Texas won six out of the previous ten H2H encounters but Texas Tech was better in the last two, while the Longhorns are unbeaten at home in this decade, which is a great sign for the bettors who are going to back the hosts in this one. Even though the tradition when it comes to home tilts is entirely on the Longhorns’ side, they already suffered three defeats at the Frank Erwin Center this year and this seems like a perfect opportunity for the Red Raiders to finally end Texas’s domination in H2H duels in Austin. The defenses will have a say in this one and both belong to top 30 in the country but I am going with Texas Tech’s D to prevail and help the team to remain in the leading position in the Big 12.

Prediction: Texas Tech Red Raiders +1 (-110)

Full-Game Total Pick

Rating:

This is going to be a low-scoring affair where the defenses will play a bigger part and when we take the respective rivals’ latest games, they shouldn’t combine for a bunch of baskets here. Texas scored more than 65 points in just two of their previous five games, while the situation is no better in Texas Tech’s last five, so I expect to see a tight duel with both teams in the sixties. Both rivals failed to score 70 or more points in six of the last seven H2H encounters and that’s why I am going with under.

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